End2Endin10 - A summary

It's now a week since we finished riding from one end of Scotland to the furthest point of England visiting Wales on the way. It was great and I'd encourage anyone to give it a go if they enjoy cycling. I think you have to enjoy cycling! A lot!

Lots of peolple have done the End2End and many more will do it in the future but I think I was very lucky to take part in an event that was so well organised. Andy Unstead (who was once at Ashleigh Primary himself) has spent the best part of 18 months planning the event and the team has raised £30,000 for the three charities we supported.

So what were the best bits and what did I learn?

Riding with 9 other guys from different backgrounds and different ages, definately! They all made me laugh so much it was great and I'm sure we will stay good friends for years to come! The scenery is stunning. We have a beautiful island and Scotland in particular is breath taking but has midgies! England (especially Devon) is more pretty but Scotland takes your breath away. The Lake District is called the Lake district because it rains a LOT! Cornwall has the most hills or at least it did the way we went. You can eat and drink as much as you want on a trip like this and you won't put on weight at all. I think I ate all day, non stop, chocolate, cakes, fry ups, anything. You need sleep though - 8 hours minimum each night! Lack of sleep really takes it's toll! Texts from friends and family are great for motivation and sometimes give you a lump in your throat. Neither Andy Brock (my room mate) or I snore! It's something our wives lie about!

Sleeping in a hostel dorm with 9 other blokes made me cry with laughter and feel like I was 10 years old again! Learning lots from experienced cyclists like Andi Timothy about cycling etiquette. How generous other people are who will lend you an expensive bike, mend a puncture in the rain, lend you a pedal, carry a box, bag or make you a cuppa at the end of a long day. I learnt that I do break a lot of stuff! I learnt how long and big our country is and how comfy my own bed is.

Oh ...and the best way to see it is definately from a bike.

And finally how rubbish at blogging I am!

One of my favourite memories. The End2End pelaton on a last little climb by the loch, heading to the hostel at Fort William, everyone tired in the sunshine and needing a shower,food and a beer (for some!). I had 1 mile to get rid of the peg and time was running out!

Day 10 Oakhampton to Land's End - Rain, rain, relief, euphoria and more rain!

Out of the mist we came, ten tired, very happy End2Enders after 1062 miles!

That's me at the back punching the air (or rain!)

And Red Leader had laid on champagne and pasties for celebrations. What a star!

If I hadn't said before, it rained, all day for our last 101 miles. It didn't put off 30 or so other riders who had come along to lift our spirits and help drag us through the last day. There were lots of guys I knew who had come along and as a result the last day was pretty easy, chatting and telling tales about our adventure. We even went the wrong way a couple of times and did a few extra hills around St Agnes.One rider was my son Sean who wanted to ride the last 100 miles but I wouldn't let him because the A39 (Atlantic Highway) was very busy, brakes weren't working very well and the wind was gusting strongly across the road. In a big bunch this can be very dangerous. Instead he joined us just before the steep hill out of Portreath for the last 30 miles and then left me miles behind as his fresh legs went way to fast for his tired 'old' dad!

We were met by a fantastic crowd of very noisey families and friends and although we couldn't see much of Land's End the people made the finish the best thing I've seen all year! Thank you!

We had great fun showering each other with champagne and chomping on pasties.

I think it would be hard to ride an event so well organised and with such great company as this adventure has been. I've ticked the box but doubt I'll be doing it again. Other adventures, yes but 1062 miles in 10 days... you'd have to be mad to do that!

Dates on this blog

As you have probably worked out already, the dates on each of these blog entries are incorrect as, due to my bad blogging skills, late finishes due to bad weather and rubbish internet at Travel Lodges the blogs had to wait!

Day 10 ? Did we finish ?

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out as due to 30 mph winds and torrential winds I didn't take a single photo as evidence!

Day 9 Tiverton to Oakhampton - Hospice visits and the Tarka Trail

We left Tiverton a little later than usual today to give time to wash up and get 12 sleeping bags and blow up beds back into their bags! How do the factories get them in to start with... they never go back in. The weather was great and we made good progress today with a climb up the famous 'Black Cat' hill near South Molton. We were expected at the North Devon Hospice at 12.00 so we had time to stop off at Peter Nancekevilles Surveyors and Estate Agents for coffee and croissants first.

I wasn't reallyexpecting what happened next. As we arrived at the Hospice we were met by hundreds of family and friends who applauded us into the hospice grounds and there was a marquee with drinks and biscuits. It was really nice to see my son Sean and wife Carole but a bit like coming out of a bubble for just an hour before we went back to the job of cycling again. We were joined by a group of about 50 other cyclists including the riders children and escorted by police motor bikes to the children's hospice at Fremmington where a fantastic lunch had been prepared for us.

I must apologise if there were any Ashleigh children who missed us on the Tarka Trail as due to the Hospice reception the ride along the Tarka Trail was delayed by at least an hour. We passed the strand and the station at 12.45 and it was a very windy ride up to Fremmington!

I had a bit of a tear in my eye as I said good bye to my family and we headed off to our final Travel Lodge in Oakhampton. One more day to go! Land's End here we come!

Day 8 Bristol to Tiverton - Back to Devon and punctures!

We headed off this morning South West towards Tiverton leaving both the Bristol bridges behind. This was easily the hardest 'get up' at 6.30 as the body was beginning to say "Do we have to go cycling today?" and it would have been very easy to roll over and go back to sleep.
But the weather wasn't bad and was forecast to improve and once you start pedalling all seems well again and the body foregets what might hurt a bit. For me this was my right knee which was needing the help of ibuprophen each day from now on and a few top tips from Andy T and his knowledge of massage.

But then the rain started and so did the punctures, I was first, followed by Adam Jewlsey and although repairs were quick the traffic through Bristol was slow. It was actually quiet amazing that until that point 10 riders had travelled over 800 miles each and that was the first puncture day!

As we got closer to home, roads became more familiar and some we had ridden before and this made the riding easier. Our place to rest was Tiverton Fire Station where Andy Brock had arranged sleeping bags and blow up beds. Not quite the Ritz but we had fun playing 'pop quiz' until 1.oo am guessing intros to 80's music on Andy Unstead's ipod. Ten riders and two film crew all in one room saved loads on the cost of accomodation but made going to the loo in the middle of the night a bit of a problem as you carefully tried not to stand on anyone's head!!!

Day 7 Shewsbury to Aust, Bristol. Sunshine, Wales and the 'Smello Jersey!'

Today found us leaving Shrewsbury and heading south fast in the sunshine towards Wales. It was great to be back in jerseys again and the red machine was picking up pace as we headed towards the Bristol Channel. 96 miles today, although there's always a few extra miles thrown in for fun.

You'll notice that one of the riders in our pelaton is always in yellow, as in the Tour de France but this 'maillot jaune' is actually called the 'Smello Jersey!' As cyclists burn thousands of calories each day, it's really important to ensure that we eat enough high energy food known as carbohydrate each day and protein for muscle rebuilding over night. This has a certain side effect which I'll leave you to work out!!!! ;) The 'Smello Jersey' is not awarded to the best cyclist but the one who you don't want to cycle behind in the pelaton. I don't think it's an award that is recognised widely across the world!

We had a fantastic climb through the Forest of Dean in Wales which had bend after bend of Alpine style road going through the forest. It was a real work out with a rewarding decent the other side. All the boys pushed hard to prove they could climb like Contador and I felt rather old as most of them went past me. I got my revenge as we descended and Andy Timothy (Monsieur Champignion) reminded me that 'Fat goes fast down hill!'

It was great to roll across the Old Severn Road Bridge and know that we were close to home ground. Just three more days to go and we'll have gone end to end.

Day 6 Kendal to Shrewsbury - Does it ever stop raining?

I didn't take many pictures on day 6 as the mood had to changed from 'adventure' to 'lets just get this done' and the camera on my phone was in danger of rusting !

Mornings are getting harder now and the first 10 - 15 miles are spent spinning in a low gear to try to remove the lactic acid that has built up in the leg muscles from over 500 miles of cycling. Added to this, we hadn't had much 'down time' the evening before so we just wanted to get through what was going to be another long 120 miles in pretty bad weather. At least the wind had moderated now! Even in the rain though, the lakes are a truly beautiful place. I guess the name Lake District must give a clue that the water for the lakes has to come from somewhere!!!! ;)

I sent my sister Lisa a text when we got close to her home in Altrincham near Manchester ( we grew up there) and she sent one back full of encouragement. She was sensible enough to be busy as we passed in the drizzle.

A long day with countless junctions and busy roads with lots of clipping in and out of cleats. We had to call the traffic and look after each other as folks with caravans pulled in a bit too close. I wasbeginning to wish we were back in John O'Groats with the empty roads and midgies!

We were all really glad to find the Travel Lodge at Shrewsbury - another long 120 miles and a late finish!